Kendrick Meek: “Reclaiming my time, Mr. Ryan, I thought you made some very good points when you read the comments from the general, when…”

“Reclaiming my time, Mr. Ryan, I thought you made some very good points when you read the comments from the general, when you talked about the Jefferson backdrop and all today. General Petraeus, whom I know and I have seen in theater, which I have been to Iraq twice, yes, he is a man that we all feel very good about. We know that he is carrying out a mission on behalf of his country. But we should not ride on the back of his accomplishments as a general and a commander in the field to justify the policy that is being carried out by this administration. I tell you this, Mr. Ryan, that historians, in the very near future, are going to look back at this time and are going to wonder where the leaders were when this war and this moment right now that we are speaking in was taking place. When I used to play football, we used to have a saying, 'The blind leading the blind and the two shall fall in the ditch.' The bottom line is if you know that the policy has been wrong, the intelligence has been inaccurate, and that everyone that has left the administration has just about written a book about when the lie was told and how they heard it first and when it was said, I think it is important that people understand and that the Members of this House understand how history will reflect on your vote and your lack of leadership or your leadership.”